Category Archives: Hobby

Moo makes Business cards

I’ve been ordering Moo Mini cards for a while now and just about ran out. So, I go to Moo.com and see that they now have business cards too. Like the mini cards, you can select your own photos to print on them. The main difference is that a set is 50 cards, unlike the Mini cards that come in sets of 100.

I’ve just ordered a set and can’t wait to get them. Moo’s print quality is quite good and I’ve never been disappointed with the results. I’m betting I’ll like the business as much as I like the mini cards.

Music I’m listening to now:
Dream Catch Me“, by Newton Faulkner from the Hand Built by Robots album. It’s a good song and great video. You can see the video here.

Adorama Equipment Rental saves the day

Quantum Turbo Battery

Ok, As lots of people know, Photography is a hobby of mine. I also volunteer to cover events for my friends at work. As I always pack my camera, no big deal right?

Except I naturally forgot to pack my flash for an event that had about 300 people scheduled to attend…

After I freaked out for a second, I called Adorama’s Rental Dept on 18th St. and reserved a Nikon SB-800 and a Quantum Turbo Battery as well. It was a little weird renting a flash I own, but the battery pack was a great idea. I ended up shooting close to 150 shots and the battery pack kept up without any problem at all. It’s really nice NOT having to worry about the flash batteries dying unexpectedly.

Next time I need to shoot an event, I’m renting one again.

Related: DXO has updated their DXO Optics Pro to version 5.2 and the results are a lot better. On my old PC, Ver. 5.04 used to take over 5 minutes to just start and had a host of bugs. Ver. 5.2 started right up, properly recognized my 18-200mm lens, and I was off. Seriously, I nearly wrote off DXO as a loss, which would have been a shame as version 4 was great. I think DXO is a good company and I’m glad the software is better.

Edit: I Wish my brother would warn me when he upgrades MY blog software…

Music I’m listening to now:
Hero/Heroine“, by Boys Like Girls from the Boys Like Girls album. You can see the video here.

Nikon is officially Evil…

Nikon D700Of course, I’m joking, but I know several Canon users who are jumping up and down right about now. Naturally, I’ll be teasing them next time they mention the Canon 5D.
😉

What am I talking about? Nikon just announced the new D700 Full frame DSLR.
From DPReview:

Nikon D700 Key Features

  • 12.1 megapixel full-frame sensor (8.45µm pixel pitch)
  • Image Sensor Cleaning (vibration) *
  • ISO 200 – 6400 (with boost up to ISO 25600 and down to ISO 100)
  • Also supports DX lenses, viewfinder automatically masks (5.1 megapixels with DX lens)
  • 14-bit A/D conversion, 12 channel readout
  • Same ultra-fast startup and shutter lag as D3
  • Nikon EXPEED image processor (Capture NX processing and NR algorithms, lower power)
  • New Kevlar / carbon fibre composite shutter with 150,000 exposure durability *
  • Multi-CAM3500FX Auto Focus sensor (51-point, 15 cross-type, more vertical coverage)
  • Auto-focus tracking by color (using information from 1005-pixel AE sensor)
  • 95% coverage, 0.72x magnification viewfinder *
  • Auto-focus calibration (fine-tuning), fixed body or up to 20 separate lens settings
  • Scene Recognition System (uses AE sensor, AF sensor)
  • Picture Control image parameter presets
  • 5 frames per second continuous with auto-focus tracking*
  • Optional MB-D10 Battery Pack (same as D300), increases burst rate to 8 fps *
  • UDMA compatible single CF card slot *
  • 3.0″ 922,000 pixel LCD monitor
  • Live View with either phase detect (mirror up/down) or contrast detect Auto Focus
  • Virtual horizon indicates if camera is level (like an aircraft cockpit display)
  • HDMI HD video output
  • ‘Active D-Lighting’ (adjusts metering as well as applying D-Lighting curve)
  • Detailed ‘Control Panel’ type display on LCD monitor, changes color in darkness
  • Magnesium alloy body with connections and buttons sealed against moisture
  • Improved Info display on main screen *

* Different to D3

Mind you, I’ve liked Nikon long before I was lucky enough to be selected to be part of their D80 advertising campaign, but I have to say, this sounds like a great camera. You can read the well written preview here at DPReview.com.

Me, I’m still saving up for a D300, but if I wanted a Full Frame DSLR, I’d seriously consider the D700.

I’m not one of those people who ONLY like “their” own brand. I just happen to really like the feel and capabilities of the Nikon line of SLR’s starting with a Nikon F and now I’m on a Nikon D80. When people tell me that they are thinking about buying a DSLR, I’ve recommended that they find out what features they want, Spend time actually handling the camera (very important!), and purchase what feels right. In the last few months, I’ve helped enough people buy a DSLR that the sales staff recognize me at Adorama (which, BTW, is a great place with a great staff And no, this is NOT a paid endorsement…). In the last 6 months, the count is 4 Nikons,  2 D80’s and 2 D60’s, 1 Canon 40D.

Image from DPReview.com.

Music I’m listening to now:
Pocketful Of Sunshine“, by Natasha Bedingfield from the Pocketful of Sunshine album. You can see the video here.

Update on the PG Mk II



Gundam MkII

Originally uploaded by S.D.

Always meant to update this post where I started to build a PG Mk II. I finished it and posted some images to Flickr, but neglected to update my Blog.  Not many photos, but You can see them here on Flickr. It was fun to build and I need to put the decals on to finish.

Music I’m listening to now:
Pocketful Of Sunshine“, by Natasha Bedingfield from the Pocketful of Sunshine album. You can see the video here.

MG Shin Musha Gundam

MG Shin MushaAs many people know, one of my hobbies is assembling Bandai Gundam Models. Over at Ngee Khiong’s blog, he found images from someone who got it and assembled it already.

I have to say, it’s an over the top model, and I Soooooo want one!
😉

I’m resisting on account of my having quite a queue of models to build. Currently I’m working on a a Bandai MG RX-78-2 Gundam. I’m not sure if I’ll paint it, but it should be fun in either case.

Update: Dalong.net has one already. Can’t wait for him to finish it. The images of the Instructions make it look pretty interesting.

Music I’m listening to now:
Nothing at the moment.